The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Clive Gerald Westerby, or Jerry Westerby, is a fictional character created by spy novelist

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...

. He first appeared in ''

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by the author and former spy John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of the taciturn, ageing spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. Th ...

'' (1974), and is the titular figure in '' The Honourable Schoolboy'' (1977). Son of

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

newspaper magnate Samuel ("Sambo") Westerby, who died leaving little wealth, Westerby, a former cricketer and international sports

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, is an "occasional" asset of

British intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains several intelligence agencies that deal with secret intelligence. These agencies are responsible for collecting, analysing and exploiting foreign and domestic intelligence, providing military intell ...

("the Circus"). He was initially recruited by

George Smiley George Smiley OBE is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is a career intelligence officer with " The Circus", the British overseas intelligence agency. He is a central character in the novels '' Call for the Dead'', '' A ...

, for whom he holds great respect. In ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', he is approached by Smiley regarding information concerning the betrayal of Jim Prideaux on an assignment in Czechoslovakia. In ''The Honourable Schoolboy'', Westerby is recalled from his semi-retirement in Italy and despatched to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, in an effort to flush out a deep-cover Soviet spy in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Portrayals

Westerby was played by

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland (29 February 1928 – 19 November 2023) was an English actor who appeared in more than 130 film, radio and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying ...

in the 1979 television adaptation of ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy''.https://www.imdb.com/character/ch0113470/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t18 Played by

Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...

in the 2011 film adaptation, his role in the plot was amalgamated with that of Sam Collins from the novel.

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams (born 10 November 1963), known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' from ...

played the role of Westerby in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

dramatisation of the

novel ''The Honourable Schoolboy'', first broadcast in January 2010.

References

Fictional British spies John le Carré Novel series Characters in British novels of the 20th century Literary characters introduced in 1973 {{novel-char-stub